Douglas Miles

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – When Phoebe Burt was a middle school track and field beginner, she despised the discus.

“My seventh, eighth grade and freshman year, hated it,” the West High senior recalled. “I did not like it. Because it was very hard. Because I wanted to just … get it out there and it just wasn’t going out there.”

Her perseverance eventually paid off during her sophomore year with the Trojans when she established a then-personal record of 116 feet at the Forwald Relays at City High.

That was the day she prioritized footwork and mechanics above physical strength.

“It was very technique heavy,” said Burt, who will be the top seed in the discus when the Class 4A girls’ track and field state championships begin Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

“You could see girls bully a shot (put) out 35, 40 feet. I have seen it. They don’t have the best form, but they can get it there. But in disc, you can’t bully a disc 100 feet. You just can’t do that. It is all technique. You have to actually learn how to do it. And that was something I was very hard-headed with. I just wanted it to go far and they were like, ‘Patience.’ And I was, ‘I don’t have any of that.’ I finally started understanding some of the footwork and it started clicking.”

Things really clicked for Burt at the state-qualifying meet May 13 at Trojan Field.

First, she rebounded from a pair of scratched throws to qualify for the state meet in the shot put with a throw of 35-10 1/2.

Then in the discus, she put on a show.

A preliminary throw of 129 feet established a new personal record, which lasted mere minutes until her finals throw reached 135-11, a mark more than 10 feet better than anyone else in the 4A state field.

“It was huge for me,” said Burt, who recently committed to William Penn to continue her track and wrestling careers. “I honestly was very surprised in it myself because our coaches, (West throwers coach) Danica (Haight) was always telling me, ‘You did it. You’re right there. You’re going to have one of them. One of these throws.’ And I was just like, ‘Maybe 130.’ But hitting that 135 mark just brought the biggest smile to my face.”

Both Burt and longtime West High coach Mike Parker were quick to credit the influence of Haight – a former state-champion thrower at West who competed collegiately at the University of Michigan – with the development of not only Burt, but junior Arionnah Sonii, who is seeded 11th in the state shot put at 36-0 1/4, two spots ahead of Burt.

“She is, without a doubt, the best throw coach in the state of Iowa, in my opinion,” Parker said. “That was one of the smarter hires that I have ever made. And here we are. We have two of the best shot putters in the entire state. I think they are both top-five girls in 4A and obviously Phoebe is out of this world in the discus for us. I think you would have to put Danica in there as the reason why. She is just a great coach.”

This is the seventh season on the West coaching staff for Haight, and Parker is hopeful that the lucky number might produce the first state champion – after three state runners-up and a Drake Relays champion – under her tutelage.

“I can’t wait to get to see the look on her face when she has her first state champion,” Parker said. “For any coach, I don’t care how long you have been doing it, state champions are just such a special thing. But to have your first one, and I think she has really got a shot with either one of those girls this year.”

Parker also raved about junior Ella Woods – who overcame some nagging injuries to not only qualify for state in the 100 hurdles (seeded ninth in 15.84), but help West qualify its shuttle hurdle relay team alongside sophomore Hebah War and juniors Brynne Nock and Raina Pfeifer – and freshman Erinn Varga.

Varga stepped on campus having never jumped over a hurdle before and now will arrive in Des Moines as a Mississippi Valley Conference champion and seeded sixth at state in the 400 hurdles (1:06.75).

“That is just an incredible story,” Parker said. “I could just tell in watching her. She had a gymnastic background and I didn’t even know until she told me that. But I could just see some athleticism to her. It was pretty evident that she had what it takes. I do not want to make it sound like I am some mad scientist that had it figured out. I think any coach would have seen that this was a girl who should give it a try. The only difficult part that I had to use was convincing her mentally that she could really be good at it. Most freshmen, they don’t want to invest a lot of time in something they have never done before and then they are not going to be any good at. But she bought in and it really paid off for her.”

Varga will also represent the Trojans in the 400 dash and will run the anchor leg of a 4×400 relay foursome that includes junior Avery Vest, sophomore Annie Schwartz and junior Sara Alaya.

Schwartz, Alaya, senior Erica Buettner and freshman Gabby Moniza comprise West High’s state-qualifying 4×800, while Maddy Negley will compete in the 3,000.

“We’re very excited,” Parker said. “This has been something that we have all been gearing towards. It has been a different year than any other year.”

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